Friday, May 24, 2019

Fringe 2019 Review: 'You Belong Here'

Master monologist Martin Dockery has been bringing his tangled tales of acid-soaked bicycle trips, religious theme parks, and radioactive fallout zones, to Orlando Fringe for a decade. This latest one-man marvel takes audiences along on his most dangerous journey yet: fatherhood.

Dockery arrives appearing unusually dapper in a suit and tie, clutching a coffee mug and an impressive-looking stack of reference books, but don’t be fooled; his manic, full-body delivery is delightfully disheveled as ever. Of course, with Dockery nothing is ever explored in a simple straight line, so this show starts with an intentionally frustrating series of ever-expanding introductions. Those eventually dovetail into an equally repetitive recounting of Martin’s misguided attempt to enjoy an audio tour of Beijing's Forbidden City. And before he even gets there, you’ll delve into hysterically off-kilter observations about flying movie theaters, cargo pants and the sunnier side of the Chinese police state.

The disparate threads don’t tie up quite as neatly here as in some of his previous scripts, but life itself is messy and chaotic, especially when you’ve got a newborn. If you “lower your expectations” (as he asks up front) longtime fans will be far from disappointed.